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Sony guts HX5V 10x megazoom, results in H55

Joining the HX5V in the company's longzoom lineup is the H55; same body, less features, and a lower price.

Joshua Goldman Managing Editor / Advice
Managing Editor Josh Goldman is a laptop expert and has been writing about and reviewing them since built-in Wi-Fi was an optional feature. He also covers almost anything connected to a PC, including keyboards, mice, USB-C docks and PC gaming accessories. In addition, he writes about cameras, including action cams and drones. And while he doesn't consider himself a gamer, he spends entirely too much time playing them.
Expertise Laptops, desktops and computer and PC gaming accessories including keyboards, mice and controllers, cameras, action cameras and drones Credentials
  • More than two decades experience writing about PCs and accessories, and 15 years writing about cameras of all kinds.
Joshua Goldman

Sony

Yay. Another compact megazoom on the market. The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX5V impressed us at CES 2010 with its 10x zoom, wide-angle Sony G lens, backside-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor, built-in GPS, and 1080p movie capture with a stereo mic--all inside a compact, pocketable body. The H55 is its less capable linemate.

Basically, most of the good stuff has been taken out except for the lens and its body with 3-inch LCD. The H55 features a 14-megapixel CCD, a 720p movie mode with mono sound, optical image stabilization with Sony's Active Mode for smoother video while walking, and a version of the company's Sweep Panorama mode, which isn't as good as the version on the Cyber-shots using Sony's Exmor R sensor. It also takes Memory Stick Pro Duo cards and SD/SDHC cards.

So, no, it's not nearly as exciting as the HX5V, but at least it's $100 cheaper at $250. It will be available in black and silver versions in April.

Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H55 (photos)

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